Instead of sitting back and waiting for the over booked and over worked rehab team at the Glenrose to have the cycles available to punch forward with certain elements of my recovery strategy, we’ve determined that it was time to step up and take a more active role.   Or more to the point, we’ve been prodded into taking an active role.  Okay, so what does that mean?  Well, the vision thing was causing me such distress that I decided to take myself off to an optometrist to have my eyes tested to see what’s going on with the prescription lenses in my glasses.  The optometry  did assure me that the prescription should have been updated some time ago as a result of ageing, and not as a by-product of the stroke.  He also did confirm that I have a visual field deficit in the bottom left quadrant, and that it is important for me to wait to see the neuro opthomologist to get a full evaluation/assessment and to chart a course of action.  But it sure feels good to know that the eyeglass prescription has changed.  And I ordered new glasses yesterday.

the second element is as a direct result of prodding from a very good friend; we took out a membership in a gym today.  This is not as foolhardy as it seems on the surface.  The doctors have said that I can engage in some lowlevel exercise without compromising anything.  On Monday I have an angiogram scheduled to verify that the embolization repairs are holding.  I meet with the surgeon the day after.  While I’ve got his full attention I will get guidance and direction on what I can and cannot do from an exercise regime perspective.
One of the things that I would like to point out about the gym we joined is that they have said that if appropriate, they will liaise with the rehab team at the GlenRose hospital to work out an exercise program for me.  The area that I’m thinking might be fun to try to interface with is the balance work that could be done.

In any event, it just feels so good to be moving things forward.  I’m getting to be a happier patient here.  Does any of this sound familiar?  It is becoming very similar to the approach to my cancer treatment and recovery…  you gotta step up and participate in the management of your own recovery.

Kudos to the folks at the Glenrose who are working with me.  Glenrose Rehabilitation Hospital
The gym we joined is the Sturgeon Valley Athletic Club  Sturgeon Valley Athletic Club